Exploit local passions to create jobs

NAIROBI: Kenya’s capacity to rise up from the ashes and from the very depths of despair will never cease to amaze me. Most tellingly, we have arisen from the scourge of terrorism and although we remain vigilant, the country is fully back on its feet. I am persuaded that this resilience stems from a passion and genius that often catapults Kenyans to great heights of achievements.

One of the areas currently benefiting from the zeal of Kenyans is sports betting. Two years ago, SportsPesa was launched in Kenya. Powered on by zealous betting by thousands of Kenyans, the firm is now smiling all the way to the bank, as evidenced by its recent sponsorship of Hull City, a UK premiership team. It is amazing that poor Kenyans will now be funding a team that plays in the richest league in the world!

While I have serious misgivings about the addictive nature of betting, the dramatic success of sports betting vindicates the passion and aptitude of Kenyans in pursuing what they believe in. Such is the realisation that has made companies like Safaricom rise to the very pinnacle of business in East and Central Africa.

The challenge facing our leaders in all sectors of the society is to borrow a leaf from the private sector and tap into the immense reservoir of passion and talent in Kenya. They need to mobilise the millions of this country’s mostly disillusioned youth to see beyond today’s despair towards tangible hope on the horizon. Sports betting may prey on the greed of some but it also dangles hope to many who wallow in hopelessness. It combines this hope with the sports passion that is abundant across the country.

As an enduring conservationist, I have seen and experienced the financial security that the green economy provides. I bought a prestigious asset from the proceeds of selling tree seedlings.

Thousands of these trees have since grown to maturity around the country. They continue to enhance livelihoods by providing fruits and herbs. Indeed, the green economy is loaded with hundreds of thousands of green jobs that are just waiting to be created and enjoyed.

As revealed in a UNEP report on Kenya’s Green Economy, the Government already has various initiatives that should now be aggressively sold to Kenyans in a manner that will cause them to passionately see hope on the horizon. These initiatives highlight green ways of making money like the manufacturing of eco-friendly materials, tree growing, organic farming, fish farming, renewable energy, bee keeping, eco-labelling, eco-tourism and solid waste management. If we unceasingly pick, focus and professionalise these available green ventures we will generate sustainable income that narrows the gap between the poor and the rich. This isn’t true just because a UNEP report says so, but because I have personally experienced it. Lets therefore think green and act green.